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Six Africans killed while storming Spain's enclaves

A humanitarian crisis at two Spanish enclaves in northeastern Morocco turned deadly for a second time in a week, with six Africans reportedly killed overnight on Wednesday in clashes with Moroccan forces as hundreds rushed guard posts in their desperation to reach Europe.

Spain, meanwhile, said starting late on Thursday, it would turn Africans who have made it into the enclave of Melilla over to Moroccan authorities. A boat carrying 80 Malians was set to leave for Morocco late on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said.

For the past week, increasing waves of men from impoverished, sub-Saharan African nations seeking to set foot on European territory have surged guard posts along the borders separating the centuries-old Spanish enclaves from Morocco.

Six men died during a "violent" assault by 400 immigrants trying to enter Melilla overnight, the Moroccan state news agency MAP said.

Abdellah Bendhiba, the governor of Morocco's Nador province, told MAP: the men had "displayed exceptional violence, obliging the security services to respond in the framework of legitimate defense."

"Unfortunately, six of the assailants died," he reportedly said.

The report did not specify how they were killed or whether Moroccan security forces opened fire. It said a total of 290 people were arrested.

MAP said the Moroccan guard posts were located in the Gurugu forest -- dense pines on a hill that overlooks Melilla. Many would-be immigrants spend months living in forests on the Moroccan side waiting to cross over.

Last Thursday, five people died of gunshot wounds when some 600 Africans tried to climb fences and reach the other enclave, Ceuta, about 500km west of Melilla along Morocco's northern coast.

Two bodies were found on the Spanish side, three on the Moroccan side. Spanish Interior Minister Jose Antonio Alonso said on Thursday that Spanish police did not use live ammunition and thus were not be responsible for the deaths on the Spanish side.

Fernandez de la Vega, in Ceuta, said Spain had no official confirmation from Morocco of deaths at the border.
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